Book Review: Can You Survive: Jack London's Call of the Wild adapted by Ryan Jacobson + Giveaway

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.

Can You Survive: Jack London's Call of the Wild adapted by Ryan Jacobson
Publisher: Lake 7 Creative
Publication date: October 2011
ISBN: 9780977412235
Source: ARC provided by author

In this choose your path story, you become Buck, a dog about to set out on a perilous journey.  Throughout his travels and becoming a sled dog, the reader is given options to choose just what they would do and then see where they end up. 

Things I Liked:
This was a fast and fun read.  I'm going to admit that I think I've read maybe one other choose-your-story type of book and I honestly can't remember it.  Jumping right into the action of Buck's frontier adventure, kids will lose themselves in the excitement and danger of this cold, deadly place.  Interesting choices are laid before you and following each to see just where you will be was fun even for this boring old grown-up.  I definitely think this book will appeal especially to boys longing for adventures and it's a great introduction to London's classic tale.

Things I Didn't Like:
There were some places here and there that the writing was awkward and might be a bit hard for younger readers to follow.  Also, it was quite violent as the dog faces some very frightening foes.  It might be especially traumatic to animal-lovers and sensitive kids, since being written in second person can make it feel more personal.  I did notice, however, that the author noted the violence was toned down in the final edition.  A fun adventure story, all these things considered!

Read-alikes:
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Choose your own adventure books by various authors

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none 

mrg-factor: none 

v-factor: ->-> 
some incidents of animal fights and animal abuse

Overall rating: *** 

And, I've got a chance for you to win a copy of this book for the adventure-seeking tween in your life (or, you know, yourself).  Open to US only, fill out the form below by November 5th. 

For more stops on the tour, visit Ryan Jacobson's blog.

Were you a choose your own path/adventure/story reader?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage